


Mutants In Space

by oonaseckar



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Body Modification, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Pirates, Snakes on a Plane, Space Opera, Space Pirates, cannibals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23409283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oonaseckar/pseuds/oonaseckar
Summary: Captain Charles Xavier, of the U.S.S. Galapagos - named for Darwin's finches - has about had enough.Cannibals.  Asteroids.  Space viruses.  You absolutely name it, it's been that kind of a month.And then, space pirate Erik Lehnsherr turns up.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Steve Rogers/Charles Xavier
Kudos: 7





	1. Cannibal Spaceship Nutjobs

**Author's Note:**

> In this world, 'mutations' are not genetic but rather technological modifications enhancing function and efficiency in a role, e.g. a telepathy mod to enable the Captain to speak to the crew at will.
> 
> I've been watching a lot of space opera on telly lately, and referred to one show as 'Cannibal Spaceship Nutjobs'. Which was almost what this got called.

"RED ALERT! RED ALERT! SECTION 13 HULL BREACHED?! ALL ENGINEERING CREW TO SECTION 13!"

It was a red alert, yeah. It was _only_ a red alert. Captain Charles Xavier, of the intergalactic battleship U.S.S. Galapagos, put his head in his hands, rear settled in the captain's chair on the deck, and runabout chaos going on all around him.

It wasn't the worst thing that had happened to the U.S.S. Galapagos that month. It wasn't -- truthfully -- even the worst thing that had happened _today_.

An asteroid tearing a chunk out of the starboard bow? Big whoop.

But -- hell with it -- Captain Xavier figured that, probably, he ought to get involved. Take charge. As the _captain_ , although with every day that passed, lately, he felt more and more like resigning, and taking a job slinging loose lab-grown meat, in the ship's staff cafeteria.

He put a finger to his temple, where the tele-implant throbbed. "Only level Delta staff to the breach," he intoned, his voice deep, and resigned. "We need the rest of you to the hold. Do something about those cannibals, for Christ's sake."


	2. disappointed in the monkey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles is having a quiet think. While the spaceship goes to hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is Mark Twain.

And, lest anyone be in too much of a hurry to write off his fatigue as irresponsible apathy, well... The cannibal thing, to be scrupulously fair, had been going on for _weeks_ , now. They'd been _contained_ : and Hank, the dear boy, had assured Charles that, after an appropriate period of quarantine regarding the alien virus an engineering spacewalk party had picked up from a meteor shower, they'd all be back to their old --mostly vegan -- selves.

Not that that was such frabjous news in _every_ case. Not an _unalloyed_ ray of sunshine, on the horizon. Not that Captain Charles Xavier would have dreamed of specifically mentioning Justin Hammer, life-support systems senior engineer. Or Azazel, HR and Social Integration Director, on the civvies side. Not at this point. Well, not aloud.

So. As long as they didn't eat each other -- and thus far, there were none who'd suffered worse than the odd chunk taken out, all being pretty much even in terms of augmented tech powers -- then it would all work out more or less fine in the long run. The Captain was quite confident about that. Perfectly sanguine, in fact.


	3. in your mind you have capacities, you know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles is fed up. It isn't _all_ about the cannibals. Or the viruses. Or the asteroid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the Carpenters, 'Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft'.

And he was on top of his job -- responsible, informed, authoritative, in short a tip-top, highly-finished product of the Neo-Galactic Military Imperium interstellar training school. Had even been the _keynote speaker_ , at the 'Control and Exploitation of Novel Territory & Resources' symposium, over on one of the little moons of his home planet of Westchester.

He just didn't much _like_ his job, lately, to tell the truth. Was just about _fed to the back teeth_ with it, in point of fact.


	4. to telepath messages through the vast unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's not on the naughty stair, exactly. But he's having a bit of a strop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title is from the Carpenters' 'Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft'.

Which was why he was lounged back in the Captain's chair, right now, glowering out across the bridge. At a rather _denuded_ bridge, with no more than a couple of cadets frantically blipping buttons, and squinting at consoles with rows of flashing lights. Most of the crew were off fighting fires, now, obedient to his word -- fires literal or metaphorical -- at one end or another of the ship. They were, each and every one, excellent at what they did. The Captain wasn't concerned.

Just morose. And a little lonely.


End file.
